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WASHINGTON – There could not be more diametrically opposed approaches to pitching than when Milwaukee and Washington meet in Tuesday’s National League wild-card game.
© Associated Press Nationals starter Max Scherzer is 11-7 with a 2.92 ERA but has been hittable since returning from a shoulder injury.
The Brewers, relying heavily on their bullpen to often navigate the bulk of the workload, will clash with a team that has built its foundation on starting pitchers. Right-hander Max Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young winner who will take the mound at Nationals Park, has been as dominant as any pitcher in the decade.
And, while the Nationals possess baseball’s worst bullpen with a 5.66 ERA, it’s clear Washington won’t be employing their usual relievers with the season on the line. Manager Dave Martinez confirmed that starters Stephen Strasburg (18-6, 3.32 ERA) and Patrick Corbin (14-7, 3.25) will be available to back up Scherzer (11-7, 2.92).
“It's really no secret why we're here,” Martinez said. “Our starting pitchers have pitched well all year long. They've kept us in ballgames. Nothing changes right now. I know it's just one game, but you're hoping your starting pitcher, which is Max, can go out there and throw six or seven innings. Nothing changes for us.”
Scherzer has been hittable in his return from a bothersome muscle strain in his right shoulder. In seven starts since his Aug. 22 return, he has posted a 4.74 ERA in 38 innings, with 36 hits (including eight homers). He also has 54 strikeouts in that window, and the Nationals have won five of those seven games.
“There were times I could recover and get back to 100% and go out there and pitch in the game and actually do damage to myself,” Scherzer said. “That's the confusing part about the whole thing, knowing when I was truly 100%. It's something you have to take in stride learn from it and understand what it was and make adjustments around it. The bigger adjustment is really in the offseason program to address that.
“I put myself in this position to be ready to be able to give whatever I need to the team. I've been up to 100 pitches a couple times now. My arm has responded. I feel like I execute pitches that deep in the game. Sometimes, that's a learning curve as you get back into it, still finding you can execute deep in the game. Tomorrow, however Davey will let me pitch, I'll pitch.”
If Scherzer runs into any trouble, Martinez has another Cy Young-caliber pitcher in Strasburg, who will be on regular rest after last pitching Thursday.
“I brought Stephen into my office to talk to him and asked him if he'd be willing to come out of the bullpen and his response was, 'I closed before in college, so I'm willing to do whatever you ask me to do,’” Martinez said.
Then, there’s the Brewers. Although Brandon Woodruff was the team’s best starter during the regular season, the right-hander only pitched a pair of two-inning stints since his return from an oblique injury. Even at full strength, it’s doubtful he would have worked more than four innings. The Brewers haven’t had a starter work seven or more innings in the past 40 games, and in only three of those did the starter go six innings or longer. Yet, the Brewers went 26-14.
“It's definitely different; I'm not going to sit here and lie to you that it's like seeing a big-time righty or big-time righty or a Kershaw where we're going to see him two or three times,” Nationals outfielder Adam Eaton said. “You've just got to roll with the punches.
“We hope we only see (Woodruff) once; that means we did a pretty good job. Just like any team does … you want to get runs on the board early and put them in a position to make decisions and go from there. … It's basically like we're starting in the sixth inning, more or less, with their pitching staff. I think we do alright in late innings.”
The Nationals have OPS totals of .805, .830 and 1.015 in the eighth, ninth and extras, respectively, this season, all ahead of the team's .796 OPS overall. Not only that, but Eaton and Juan Soto are the only two key left-handed bats in the lineup, which means Milwaukee's strength of lefty relievers (Josh Hader, Drew Pomeranz, Brent Suter, Alex Claudio) may not have many opportunities to match up by handedness.
“We're getting used to it now,” infielder Ryan Zimmerman said of the multi-pitcher approach. “It seems like it happens almost once a week nowadays, so it's not anything new. It's one of those things where you've got to do your homework, you've got to study and know what each and every guy wants to do, so when they come in, it's not a surprise. It's no different than planning for the starting pitchers, it's just a bunch of different starting pitchers.”
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo’s allegiance to preserving his starting-pitching assets led him to make one of the more famous roster decisions in recent memory, shutting down Strasburg in 2012 to preserve his arm after he underwent Tommy John surgery the previous year. The Nationals lost their playoff series with St. Louis that year, 3-2, and remain on the lookout for their first playoff series win. Don’t expect the franchise to join the fray as more and more teams begin to investigate an approach similar to Milwaukee’s.
“Starting pitchers, it works when you have starters like Scherzer and Strasburg, Corbin and (Anibal) Sanchez,” Rizzo said. “Our formula all year has won us a lot of games over the last eight years. It's the way we've constructed our roster.”
Other names to know
© Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon has the third-highest OPS in the National League but has batted .100 over the final 10 games of the regular season.In the first season without star slugger Bryce Harper, who signed with the Phillies in the offseason, the Nationals began the season 19-31 but rallied back from 12 under .500 to rally through a torrid final two months of the season. Washington went 19-7 in August and 17-11 in September, closing with eight straight wins and 10 of 11.
Sound familiar? The 2018 Brewers also won eight straight and 10 of 11 heading into last year's Game 163.
These are the guys to know:
Anthony Rendon: The third baseman and MVP candidate has a 1.010 OPS; only Christian Yelich (1.100) and Cody Bellinger (1.035) had higher marks in the National League. He has, however, batted just .100 in the final 10 games of the season with a .503 OPS (and no homers).
Juan Soto: He doesn't even turn 21 until later in October, and he's one of the brightest young sluggers in the league, with 110 RBI and 34 homers this year (and a .949 OPS). He has, however, struggled against the Brewers this year, batting just .188 (3 for 16 over three games).
Adam Eaton: The lefty-swinging outfielder has hit the Brewers well this season, with a .385 batting average and 1.333 OPS in six games (including three homers and six extra-base hits total in 26 at-bats). For the year, he has only 15 bombs but a solid .365 on-base percentage.
Trea Turner: The shortstop posted an .850 OPS this year and led the team with 35 stolen bases, and he matched a career high with 19 home runs.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Nationals will turn to their ace starters in Tuesday's wild-card game